Will Smith spoke with Trevor Noah about his now-famous Oscars smack in March during a Monday night visit on “The Daily Show.”
Smith, while promoting his upcoming film “Emancipation,” referred to the incident as “a horrible night” and claimed he “lost it” when he stormed the stage and smacked host Chris Rock.
“And I suppose what I would say is that you never know what another person is going through,” Smith concluded. “That night, I was going through something. Not that this in any way justifies my behavior.”
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Smith stated that the most unpleasant aspect of his acts was the difficulty they caused for others.
“And it’s as though I comprehended the concept that injured people hurt people,” he remarked.
Smith stated, “That anger had been stored up for a very long period.”
Noah pointed out that Smith wrote in his memoir about his childhood fear of fighting, and the talk show host also mentioned the harsh comments made about Smith and his family online.
Smith responded, “It was several different things.” “Knowingly, it was the young boy who witnessed his father assaulting his mother. Everything suddenly erupted at that instant.”
Smith stated that his current self was “not who I want to be.”
In July, Smith acknowledged the incident and apologized on social media.
The Academy has punished Smith by prohibiting his attendance at the Oscars for the next decade.
